My Classroom

As many of you know, I haven't been able to get into my classroom, and I'm trying very hard not to stress about it. The rest of this week is out, because of LETRS training. (This is the last 4 days of 12 training days. It's been fantastic, and I'm looking forward to these next days.) Next Monday is my last chance, and I'm planning on working miracles. I'm going to HAVE to work miracles, there's no other choice!But in the meantime, I want to remember my room when it's set up, so I'm going back to last year's photographs.Here's my reading table, with my library behind it. I plan to keep the library in this corner, since it's the only corner I've got, and it works! I also like the reading table right in front of the bulletin board, since I keep that bulletin board updated to go along with what we're studying in Reading. I put the weekly spelling patterns, the weekly vocabulary, and our comprehension targets. Since it's right behind me, it's super handy!

Because I use the projector frequently, I need to have the children's desk close to the whiteboard in the front of the room. I do change the formation several times a year, as well as rearrange the combinations of kids. You may see the beanie babies on the kids desks. These are an important part of my classroom, and the kids look forward to earning the privilege of keeping a beanie (or two, or three) on their desk for the day.

My desk is where everything gets thrown, but I never leave school until it's back in order. It's really more of a "teacher reference/ supply area" than a work spot for me. nce or twice a year the kids see me sit at the desk (usually if I'm looking for supplies in the bottom drawer) and they always giggle!

Here's another view of the reading table with the reading bulletin board in the background. To the right another bulletin board where I showcase children's work, and the computer table with 2 laptops and a huge dinosaur printer.

Here's one of the favorites from last year's kids... my Super Improvers board! They were mighty proud of how much they improved from the beginning of the year to the end!

And, of course, my favorite poster:

I refer to this poster all the time. After a while, the kids recite it themselves. It lives on the wall right above the bookshelves.

Now, about my sports theme! Here are a couple of my new inspirational posters: a soccer scene that says "To be a winner, give all you've got". And a hockey scene that says "You miss 100% of the shots you never take".

Here's a baseball theme that says "Dare to try". I also bought a bunch of sports mini-notes. These are part of my welcome bulletin board outside the classroom. It says "The DeCost Team", and has the children's names on different sports mini-notes.

Finally, I bought some adorable sports themed nametags as well as some cute decorations for the windows.

I promise I'll put up more pictures once I'm finally allowed to get into my classroom. Honestly, looking at these pictures and writing about my plans makes me feel a little better, and a tiny bit less stressed! I WILL have a classroom to teach in this year!